Thank you, Dr. Anderson. Let me salute you for your great commitment to the
success of Gallaudet University, as well as for your dedication to empowering
people who are deaf through better and more effective continuing education
programs.

And President Jordan, what a great pleasure and honor it is to be here with
you this morning. You are making a real difference in the lives of many, many
people. Everyone in our administration knows it, from President Clinton on
down. And I want you to know that we applaud and appreciate your leadership and
advocacy on behalf of people who are deaf and hard of hearing. We are proud of
you and what you represent.

This is, of course, a great week for Gallaudet. And it is a great day -- a
day

of celebration -- the day you are dedicating the new Kellogg Conference
Center. Certainly, this building will stand in tribute to Dr. Anderson and
President Jordan -- two men whose life's work is exemplified in the vision and
goal of this conference center: to establish a barrier-free environment to
lifelong learning.

But it is also a tribute to the entire Gallaudet University community --
students, faculty, alumni -- and those in the deaf community beyond this
beautiful campus. I congratulate you. And I bring you this message:

(TO BE DELIVERED IN SIGN LANGUAGE: "You are America's future.")

How do I know that?

First of all, I understand the enormous wealth of talent, cultural diversity
and character that the deaf community brings to our nation and our world. I
know about the contributions made by deaf people throughout the history of this
country -- across all professions -- from education to the arts, from science to
the business world.

I also know about trends in the workplace -- and particularly about the fact
that people with disabilities are a growing segment of our workforce.

Yes, the number of deaf and people with disabilities who are unemployed is
still much, much too high. Yes, too many doors to employment remain closed.
Yes, we have a long way to go.

But thanks in part to technology -- in part to the civil rights struggle
that led to passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act -- and in part to a
growing number of enlightened employers who really want to do the right thing --
we are heading in the right direction.

Our entire nation will benefit from the full participation of Americans with
disabilities in our economy and our society. And the sooner we meet that goal,
the better.

As the President has said: "We can't afford to waste the talents of a
single person if we are to succeed in this exciting new world."

Indeed, this is an era of extraordinary change -- for our economy, for our
society, for our working families -- and, yes, for every one of you here today.

Today, we are moving away from the old era of factory production. We moved
from the farm to the assembly line, and now we are moving from the assembly line
to the computer and beyond.

The same technology that has shrunk the old, upright teletype machines into
the smaller, sleeker, computerized TTY machines of today is also changing the
entire nature of work and employment.

While traditional white collar workers continue to be downsized out of jobs,
and while traditional blue-collar workers are barely beginning to catch up after
two decades of stagnant wages, there is an emerging group of workers that is
reshaping the nation's industrial base and forming a foundation for the middle
class of the 21st Century.

These new workers do not plug along at repetitive tasks. They do not work
by giving orders to others. Instead, they associate their skills with smart
machines.

The line between professionals and their assistants is blurring, shaking up
old hierarchies and linking pay to skills rather than credentials. Hospital
technicians run tests and perform other routine tasks that doctors once handled.
Para-legals research cases by computer and use computers to prepare documents
for attorneys.

Computer-aided graphics technicians back up designers and architects. And
financial technicians run specialized software for accountants and auditors.

Today's technologies have spurred a whole host of new opportunities in
industries that barely existed only 25 years ago. And who knows what the major
growth occupations will be 25 years from now?

I do know this, however: Almost all of these new jobs will require some
education and training beyond high school. They're going to require that
everyone -- businesses, government, and individuals -- make a stronger, more
vigorous commitment to the development of our "human capital."

Already, there are many indications that the supply of these new workers is
not keeping up with demand.

In California and the Pacific Northwest, employers can't find the skilled
telecommunications workers they need. In the Southeast, producers of industrial
machinery and equipment can't fill orders because they don't have workers with
the right technical skills. There are shortages of software programmers
throughout the Northeast. Employers throughout the country complain that they
don't have nearly enough technical sales and support personnel. On surveys
conducted by the National Federation of Independent Businesses, small business
owners cite lack of skilled workers as one of their major impediments to
continued growth.

This shortage of highly-skilled workers threatens to limit the nation's
economic growth.

This underscores the fact that, in the new economy, we cannot afford to
leave anyone behind -- be it the child who lacks educational opportunities, the
factory worker whose skills are not geared to the new economy, or -- yes -- the
deaf person who has so much to contribute but is being held back by outmoded
attitudes or outright discrimination.

And it's a major reason why the ADA and its full implementation is so
vitally important to America's future. It has been said many time before, but
it bears repeating -- in this highly-competitive, technology-driven economy, we
don't have a single person to waste.

But how will we know whether we are succeeding?

Clearly, we need better and more reliable statistics on exactly how the deaf
and people with disabilities are faring in the job market -- so that we can
gauge the impact of programs and laws like the ADA.

I'm pleased to say that the Census Bureau is now providing regular,
state-of-the-art reporting and a more detailed picture on the employment and
unemployment situation of people with disabilities. And the Bureau of Labor
Statistics -- in my Department -- will be providing further analysis of those
figures at a future date.

There is already good news to report. From 1991 to 1994, we saw a
substantial increase in the number of deaf and disabled people working -- an
increase of about 800,000. But having better, more accurate employment
information will enable us to continue moving in the right direction by
increasing the rate of employment among Americans with disabilities.

This is more than a goal for government policy-makers. It is a goal for
all of America. And I know that Dr. Anderson and President Jordan are going to
continue to lead the way.

With the ADA as a good foundation and a good start, I believe that changing
attitudes and advancing technology will continue to wipe away the employment
barriers that still prevent far too many Americans with disabilities from
participating in the workforce.

But, while changing employer attitudes and increasing physical access to the
workplace is vital to our goal of full participation, there is another kind of
access that -- in this new economy -- is becoming increasingly important to your
future in the workplace.

Access to the latest learning -- and thereby opportunities to increase
skills and develop professionally -- is the key the good jobs of tomorrow. By
providing that access, the Kellogg Conference Center is going to make a huge
contribution to the lives of many people.

To those of you who are students here at Gallaudet, your education here is
important -- to be sure -- but it is really only a stepping stone toward a life
of continual learning. And it is this lifelong learning process that will
continue to make you a vital part of the world of work of today and tomorrow.

And that's another reason why the Gallaudet community is going to be a vital
part of America's future.

You have played a critical role in breaking down barriers for deaf people in
the American workplace. An extraordinarily high percentage of your graduates
are either moving into good jobs or going to graduate school to further their
education.

It's a great accomplishment. But, as an institution of higher learning, you
cannot rest on your laurels. You must continue to build on your success by
focusing on the next great challenge -- ensuring that those who move into the
workforce will have opportunities to build their skills, to develop
professionally, and to get ahead in the economy of the 21st Century.

The events of this week -- particularly the dedication of the new Kellogg
Center and the convening of this "Career Force 2000" conference -- are
an affirmation that the Gallaudet University community is ready to meet that
next challenge.

I want to commend the W.K. Kellogg Foundation for making a vital link -- a
necessary link -- between the need for better programs to educate people who are
deaf, and the need to focus on continuing education.

The Kellogg Conference Center -- with its state of the art technology -- is
a tremendous accomplishment. And I'm confident that it's gong to play a vital
role in meeting one of the most important challenges facing this nation -- the
challenge of building the best educated, most highly skilled workforce in the
world.

Here we have an educational center that is not only designed for the new
economy, but also provides ease of communication for people who use sign
language, assistive listening devices, or voice.

This is a place for professional development. A place where working people
can go to upgrade their skills. A place where adults can train for the jobs of
the future and stay competitive -- without interrupting their careers. A place
for lifelong learning.

Thanks to Gallaudet University and to the Kellogg Foundation, people who are
deaf and hard of hearing now have such a place -- one that is uniquely focused
on communication and the use of technology to knock down barriers to learning.

In addition, this Center will serve as a new standard for providing access
to all employees in the workplace and in training. There is much that business
and government can learn from the barrier-free access that has been created
here.

Your commitment to professional development is going to open more doors to
full participation and self-reliance for deaf and hard of hearing people
everywhere.

As you know, President Clinton's administration has been working hard at
addressing the wider challenge of ensuring that every working person has the
opportunity to make the transition from the old economy to the new.

A critical part of our initiative is to convert America's unemployment
system into a re-employment system by consolidating information and services for
job seekers and making them available to the public all in one place. These One
Stop Centers -- as they are called -- will focus primarily on providing the
information and services that workers will need to upgrade their skills for new
and better careers.

As we work with the states to develop these One Stop Centers we have the
opportunity to build from the ground up a re-employment system that includes
state-of-the-art access for job seekers with disabilities.

So today I am directing our Employment and Training Administration to
continue providing leadership to states and local communities to ensure that
these One Stop Center systems are fully accessible to the deaf and people with
disabilities.

The Department of Labor is committed to working with the Department of
Education's Division of Vocational Rehabilitation and the Social Security
Administration to ensure that accessibility issues are addressed in the start-up
designs of the One Stop Centers.

The goal of the One Stop Centers is and should be to do everything possible
to ensure that all Americans have equal access to re-employment services. We
can achieve that goal by making sure that this issue is addressed at the very
beginning -- while the One Stop Centers are starting their operations.

I am encouraged by this initiative, and by progress we are seeing in the
private sector, as well.

The ranks of exemplary employers is growing. More of them are realizing
what is true -- that providing job accommodation is not costly, that new
employees with disabilities have brought diversity and potential to the American
workplace, and, most importantly, that the future belongs only to those who seek
to capitalize on the enormous pool of talent represented by the millions of
Americans who have disabilities.

There is still much to be done.

We need to continue to spotlight the high-road employers and encourage
others to follow their lead. We need to convince more employers that, in the
words of President Jordan, "deaf people can do anything hearing people can
do except hear." And we need to show America that the road to success in
tomorrow's workplace leads directly through the huge pool of talent, knowledge
and creative energy that you represent.

Remember, [sign language] "you are America's future."

I know Gallaudet University will continue to lead the way as a source of
strength and inspiration -- not only for the deaf -- but for everyone who wants
to create a better America.